A/n- Surprise! My beta was totally great and got this chapter back to me today so I thought, why not just post it! I know at times I do make you wait a while between chapters so this is my gift to you! Thanks guys! The next chapter may be up in a week or so, maybe more.

Chapter Fourteen: Undeniable

Lily Potter sat in a stiff metal chair in a small room with absolutely nothing in it other than the table that sat in front of her. There were two men in the room with her, leaning over the desk and staring down at her ominously.

"I have already told you, I don't know why I keep having these dreams," Lily said, clearly very annoyed.

"You must have some idea. We know you're a smart girl, Lily. There is something you're not telling us," one of the men accused.

The other man exchanged a meaningful look with the interrogator and said suddenly, "Could this have anything to do with your mother?"

"What about my mother?" Lily asked.

"Surely you know she was a descendent of one of the most powerful and influential pure-blooded families in North America."

Lily tried to hide her lack of knowledge with an unemotional expression. "That has nothing to do with it."

"How can you be so sure?"

Lily stood up on her shaky feet to glare at the man. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and at the moment I don't really care. I'd appreciate it if you'd just get on with whatever else you need to do and let me go home. I don't like being treated like a common criminal! I thought this was a medical inquiry, not a cross-examination."

"We know you're hiding something!"

"And clearly I'm not the only one!"

On of the men stepped forward and violently threw her up against the wall behind her. She hit the flat surface with startling force and couldn't stop her body sliding limply towards the floor. The other man however grabbed her by the shoulders and kept her on her feet. "Either you start talking or things are going to go from bad to worse."

"TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!" a voice from the doorway roared. In all the confusion, Lily hadn't even heard the door open but when she looked over the man's shoulder, she sighed in relief to see her father striding towards her. The interrogator still had a firm grip on her shoulders and didn't turn to look at Harry who was now right behind him.

"Do not make me tell you again! Take your hands off my daughter, now!"

The man complied this time and stepped away. Harry pushed him out of the way and swept an obviously exhausted Lily into his arms.

"We have the permission of the Minister of Magic. We're only trying to get to the bottom of what's going on," one of the men said.

"Get out of my way," Harry spat with malice.

"You'd better listen to him," another voice said unexpectedly. Everyone turned to see Dennis O'Connor standing in the doorway with his wand at the ready. "I don't know what you both think you're doing, but Lily is a member of the auror department and under my supervision. She's been through quite an ordeal tonight and she needs to go home and rest."

The interrogator stepped forward and squared off his gaze at Harry. "You may think you deserve special treatment because of who you are. But I think different. I know all about you and the stuff you pulled in school. You've always been allowed to get away with murder. I'm no Albus Dumbledore and I don't think very highly of you, Saint Potter."

Something about that jab seemed familiar. "You don't know anything about Professor Dumbledore," Harry told him forcefully.

"Maybe so, but make no mistake, you will get no special treatment from me. What's happening to Lily is clearly not natural. You're daughter is hiding something and we will get to the bottom of this. You know more than you're letting on and I promise you I will find out what's going on here."

Dennis stepped forward and roughly grabbed the man by his collar. "Back off and let the man take his daughter home."

Harry nodded gratefully, and advanced through the door and down the hall with Lily in his arms.

Dennis jogged to join him seconds later. "I'm sorry about this, Harry. I had no idea they'd take it this far."

"Why are they treating her like she's done something wrong?" Harry asked, glancing down momentarily at Lily who was fighting to keep her eyes open.

Before Dennis could reply, someone from down the hall yelled in there direction, "I don't think she's a hero either!" Harry and Dennis turned around to see the two men standing in front of the interrogation room with their arms crossed over their chests. Wow, these men are awfully childish!

"I don't care what you think," Harry fired back.

"She may have acted bravely tonight on that island but I'm sure deep down she's rather cowardly," the man said, squaring off his shoulders.

Dennis stopped for a minute to let what the man said sink in before he turned to Harry and asked politely. "As an auror I'm gonna need you're help for a second. Put Lily down."

Harry sat Lily in a nearby chair. "Daddy, don't," she mumbled as she slumped to the side unable to support her own weight even sitting down.

"I'll be right back, sweetheart," Harry said, kissing her forehead and talking back to Dennis. They walked back up the hallway towards the two men.

Once they were face to face, Dennis spoke to them in an official tone. "There was no way you could have known about that island tonight. That's classified information the Minister of Magic doesn't even know about. You're under arrest for suspicious activity, treason, and the assault of a ministry official. Hand over your wand. It will be returned to you when our investigation is complete."

The two men exchanged dark looks before they bolted in opposite directions. Harry tore after one while Dennis took the other. He tackled the man to the ground, rolled him onto his back, and pinned his arms behind him before binding them together magically. The man kicked violently and managed to knock Harry off him momentarily. Once Harry regained his footing, he pulled the man to his feet and slammed him against the nearest wall.

"Move again," he dared, holding his wand between the man's eyes. "I'm a cold hardened war veteran…Clark," he added looking down at the man's nametag. "Don't think I won't hesitate to kick your sorry arse the same way I kicked Tom Riddle's."

"You'll get yours," Clark spat.

"I think I've already paid my dues. You, however, are only beginning to pay yours," Harry said as he pulled Clark's sleeve up to reveal a dark mark on his forearm. "I'm sure you'll see many old death eater friends in prison. Tell the dementors I said hello, will you?"

Just then Dennis came back up the hallway with the other man. "Thanks Potter, but I'll take it from here. You just get Lily home."

"Thanks for your help in there," Harry said sincerely.

"No problem. Thanks for your help out here. You aren't a half bad auror, Harry."

Harry nodded and walked back down the hallway, finding Lily in the same hunched over position he left her in. He knelt down in front of her and got her attention by gently laying a hand on her knee. "Lily, honey, are you ready to go home now?"

"Home…," she said in a hollow voice. Harry could tell she was severely disoriented as she looked at him with glazed eyes.

"Yes, home to Jack. That's where we're going. Can you stand?"

"Jack," she mumbled, holding her head as if she'd forgotten something.

Harry ignored her statement. "Never mind," he said, scooping her up in his arms and walking to the nearest apparition point.

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon be the time Harry and Lily made it back to the house in Hogsmade. "We're home!" He yelled as he apparated into the kitchen. Lily was half asleep on his shoulder and he still held her up in his arms. "Ginny?" He said looking around the appealingly vacant house. Are you saying that the vacantness was appealing or that the house itself was appealing?

"Upstairs!" a voice called off in the distance.

Harry walked through the semi-dark house and up the stairwell. He saw the light coming from the only furnished bedroom other than the master suite. Ginny met him at the doorway with her finger to her lips.

"Shhhh, he just dropped off," she said in a hushed voice. She then looked down at the girl in her husbands arms and lovingly tucked the hair that had fallen in her face back behind her ear. "Lily, are you alright?"

Lily gave no reply in words, only a soft murmur escaped her lips and she didn't even open her eyes. Ginny and Harry's eyes met again and he shook his head in disgust. "Death Eaters," was all he managed to say in a whisper heavy with anger.

"Not at the ministry?" Ginny asked, clearly shocked.

"Looks like it," Harry confirmed. "It's just like the war all over again. I don't know who to trust."

"I don't understand how they're so organized without a leader?" Ginny thought out loud.

"Maybe they have one," Harry surmised.

Ginny suddenly caught his meaning. "You don't think…"

"How's Jack?"

Ginny glanced behind her to where Jack was sleeping stretched out on the bed. "He's not well, Harry. I had to trick him into taking a sleeping potion otherwise he'd probably be wide awake. He's pretty depressed."

"Who wouldn't be?" Harry said as he walked into the room with Lily. He walked around to the other side of the bed to lay her down next to Jack. "Think they'll be alright in here?"

"I could sit up with them for a while," Ginny offered. "Why don't you go take a shower and get some rest? I'll come to bed if they don't wake up. It looks like they're going to sleep through the night."

"Well, that's hardly fair," Harry said, walking over to the over stuffed chair and pulling her with him to sit on his lap. "We'll both sit up here together for a little while."

"Harry, I don't know if we can live through another war," Ginny whispered, almost as if she was trying to prevent Jack and Lily from hearing her worry.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, love," Harry replied, gently pulling her head down onto his shoulder and kissing her forehead.

The two sat in silence for over an hour before Harry started to doze off. Slowly the room around him became fuzzy and his concentration slipped. His head fell back against the chair as he let go of consciousness.

Dark and damp. Those where the first things Harry noticed when as he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a long hallway that looked vaguely familiar on some level. Clearly he was underground somewhere. The whole place held the smell of staleness that only comes with limited exposure to fresh air supply. Slowly he advanced forward and came to an empty cell on his left.

A prison? He was in a prison? Suddenly he heard voices, so he darted into the cell so he wouldn't be discovered.

"Are you sure you hit him with the memory charm?" a deep male voice asked frantically.

"I'm positive, master," another male voice responded, this one a few octaves higher than the first.

"Good, at least I don't have to worry about him being a problem, at least for a while," the deeper voice surmised.

"What about the girl? Are you going to try to get her back?"

"It's too risky. She'll be guarded. There will be another time. I won't lose her like I lost her mother…"

Harry woke from his dream with a start. He was still in the armchair facing Jack and Lily, but Ginny was no longer there. Apparently she had covered him with a blanket and put a soft pillow beneath his head.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to piece together the dream he'd just had. It felt like he'd actually lived it before, like he was reliving a memory. Judging by the sun coming through the window, it was sometime in the afternoon.

He looked over to where Jack and Lily were both asleep on the bed, and was disturbed to find Jack's brow sweaty and his face slightly red. He stood up from the chair and walked over to him. Feeling his forehead, he realized he was feverously warm.

"He's had a fever since we left the hospital," Ginny said as she came into the room with a damp cloth. She folded the cloth and laid it gently on Jack's forehead. "The potions haven't started to bring it down yet."

Harry nodded and gestured to his daughter. "Has she been asleep the whole time?"

Ginny nodded but didn't say anything other than, "Come here with me for a minute."

"Alright," Harry said as he allowed her to pull him out into the hallway. Once they were through the doorway, Ginny shut the door and faced Harry with a set look on her face.

"Harry, I don't think you should tell Lily all about Melissa when she wakes up," she finally said wearily.

He stuffed his hands in his pants and let go of a breath. "I can't keep it from her much longer, Gin."

"I know, but I just think it would be too much for her. She really hasn't slowed down since Christmas, and now that Jack's hurt I don't know how she'll take anymore blows right at the moment."

"When do you think I should do it then?"

Ginny thought for a minute while she formed a plan. "Why don't you stay here with Jack while Lily and I have some girl time? I can take some time off from the orphanage and we'll do some planning for the wedding. She still hasn't picked out her dress or the bridesmaid dresses and the invitations haven't gone out yet either. If they're getting married this spring we've got to get a move on all that stuff."

Harry glanced at the still closed bedroom door. "Do you really think she'll leave him here, especially when he's ill?"
"She will if she knows you're going to be here if something happens. She needs this, love. She needs to have some down time to remember that there are things in life worth living for."

"You're sure about this?"

"I am," Ginny nodded, folding her arms across her chest and squaring her shoulders.

He sighed, but finally nodded his head in agreement. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her familiar smell. "It means a lot to me that you and Lily get along. You know, step-mothers and step-daughters sometimes don't get along at all."

"Did I ever tell you about the little chat I had with Lily before our wedding?" she asked against his chest.

"No," Harry said, running his hands up and down her back, pulling her closer.

"She asked me if she could call me mum," Ginny confessed with a reserved smile, waiting to see what Harry would say.

"She…she what?" Harry asked, not sure he heard her right.

Ginny pulled away from him slightly in case he was angry with her for some reason. "She came up to see me when I was getting ready and we were talking. I was worried that she would think that I was taking her mother's place. She told me that I wasn't, because her real mother had never really been a mother figure because she was killed when Lily was so young. And…she just asked if it would be alright if she called me mum. I told her I'd me honored. I didn't think it'd be a problem…"

Harry smiled for the first time since before they got Hermione's owl saying what had happened to Jack and Lily. He pulled her back to him and whispered in her ear, "It's not a problem at all. I'm glad she's finally got someone to fill that hole in her life. I'm only sorry it couldn't have been sooner."

"Jack's got some issues of his own to deal with. It might be good for you and him to spend some quality time together," she suggested.

"What do you mean? Did something happen?"

"He and I had a little…discussion earlier. Harry, he's just confused and tired and all this has been thrown at him when he's really not ready to deal with it. He and Lily are so young. He's having a little trouble finding space and time to deal with all these new developments," she explained gently.

"Okay, so I'll take care of Jack and you take care of Lily. Is that our plan?"

"Divide and conquer," Ginny affirmed, kissing him soundly on the lips.

"Conquer what?" a voice asked from the now open door.

Both of their heads snapped to the bedroom doorway to see Lily standing there looking at them curiously.

"Lily, are you feeling better?" Harry asked quickly.

"Yeah, a little shaky but I'm better. Um…Jack's got a fever," she said, gesturing behind her to where Jack still looked very uncomfortable. "How long has he had it?"

"I didn't discover it until we left the hospital," Ginny told her. "The potions should help in time."

"Right," Lily said uneasily, not looking back at them. "Are you sure its okay for him to be out of the hospital? I mean it was a really terrible curse and we don't even really know if the worst is over."

Harry turned her around and held her by the shoulders at arms length, "Lily, honey, Jack is going to be just fine. You and Ginny are going to be spending some time together planning the wedding while I stay with Jack to make sure that he's recovering."

Lily smacked herself in the forehead, "Oh! The wedding! I completely forgot! I'm getting married and I don't have a dress or invitations, or flowers, or…"

Ginny interrupted. "It's okay, dear, that's what I'm here for. You and I are going to go out and have some fun planning this wedding!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, just leaving him like this?" she asked apprehensively.

"You're not leaving him!" Ginny exasperated. "You're letting his godfather spend some time with him. Besides, you're still going to be staying here for the next week or so. It's all going to be fine"

"I guess so…I've got to plan the wedding and there's no time like the present," Lily said, almost regrettably.

"It's a wedding not a funeral!" Harry reminded her.

"I know…I'm being silly. Of course I'm excited," Lily said, this time slightly more convincingly.

"Why don't we start with the guest list?" Ginny suggested. "We can talk about it while I make dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily nodded.

"And you, love," Ginny said, turning to her husband, "You need to take a shower and sit with Jack."

"Are you trying to tell me that I smell?" Harry asked, faking astonishment.

"Yes," Ginny affirmed flatly.

Harry huffed and walked away from them speaking over his shoulder, "Well, I can see when the love is short. I'll go take my shower and hope that you will be in better spirits when I return!"

Two hours later, Ginny and Lily had whipped up a modest dinner and had finalized the guest list. Neither of them had heard anything from Jack and Harry from the floor above, so they assumed Jack was still asleep.

"That didn't take as long as I thought it would," Ginny commented as they set the table.

"I had no idea the list would get that long," Lily exclaimed. "What with Dad's friends and your friends and all Jack's parent's friends and family…Hogwarts will be full to the breaking point!"

"If you want a small wedding we could always cut back," Ginny reminded her.

"No, it's been a long time since all of you have been together. I think it will be nice to get to celebrate something besides a war coming to an end."

"You're right. A lot of us haven't seen each other since school. We'll get the invitations when we go shopping tomorrow," Ginny suggested as she brought the roast chicken over to the table.

"I still feel uneasy about this," Lily admitted. "I don't think it's right to leave him."

Ginny was about to open her mouth to retort but she didn't get the chance, because Harry came into the room with Jack's arm slung around his neck as he helped him limp to the table.

"There is nothing to be uneasy about," Harry said to Lily, "Jack's fine; other than being really stubborn about coming down here to have dinner rather than having us bring him up a plate."

Lily rushed to Jack's other side and helped her father get him into the nearest chair. "Jack, you're not well enough to be walking around like this. You could start bleeding again," she said, lifting his shirt up to check that his bandages were alright.

"I've been resting all day, love. Though I really don't remember falling asleep. The last think I remember is waiting for you to come home with Aunt Ginny," Jack said, shooting Ginny a glaring look.

"You needed rest!" Ginny defended. "Harry was taking care of Lily and I knew they'd be mad at me if you were all worked up and bothered when they got back!"

Jack sighed, "Its okay. At least I know she's alright now."

"You're fever seems to have gone down a little," Lily said, feeling his forehead. She then picked up his wrist to check his pulse.

"So, what do you think? Will I live, Healer Potter?" Jack asked smartly when she released his wrist.

"If you're lucky, but I'm not a healer yet and when I am it will be Healer Weasley," Lily said smugly, pecking him on the lips before going to get his potion from his room.

"Oh, Lily, I'm not in pain. I don't need anything!" Jack called after her.

"Save it, son, she's got her mind set on taking care of you at the moment so you might as well live with it," Harry said. He took a seat at the head of the table. Ginny brought the side dishes to the table and sat down at his right hand side.

Lily returned and set the measured out potion in front of Jack and gave him a look that dared him to refuse it. He didn't, of course, and downed the potion with a huff. Lily took a seat next to him on her father's left hand side and they began eating.

"So, how is the guest list coming?" Harry asked between swallows.

"We're done," Lily told him, glancing at Jack. "I hope you didn't want a small wedding."

"I want whatever will make you happy," Jack said, taking her hand under the table.

"How many invitations are you mailing out?" Harry wondered.

"Three hundred and fifteen," Ginny said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Jack and Harry both coughed in their attempts to swallow their food properly. "That certainly is a lot of people!" Harry exclaimed.

"We're not expecting all of them to come," Lily said quickly, "We just thought it might be nice to get everyone together for something fun for a change."

"You've got a point," Harry thought out loud. "I haven't seen a lot of my friends since before I went to America."

"What are you guys doing tomorrow?" Jack asked.

Ginny eyed Lily before answering. "Well first of all, Miss Lily is going to sleep in late and get some rest. They we're going dress shopping. I don't want her over-doing it."

"Neither do I," Jack said, giving her hand a squeeze.

The rest of dinner went off without incident. Harry helped Jack back upstairs while Lily stayed behind to help clean up with Ginny.

"He looks better," Ginny said once the boys left. "He's starting to get the color back in his face."

Lily nodded, "Yeah, that's good. I thought I was going to fall apart back on the island. He was so pale and there was so much blood…I thought I'd already lost him."

"Jack's a fighter. He probably gets it from his father. You know, your Uncle Ron fought the entire final battle on a compound fracture to the ankle? He was hurt so bad in the fighting that he was unconscious in the hospital for over two weeks. He was worse off than your dad was," Ginny remembered.

"What about you? Were you hurt?" Lily asked shyly.

"No, I wasn't at the battle. Harry left with Ron and Hermione to find what they needed to have a shot at destroying Voldemort. They were gone for over a year and a half before they finally got down to destroying You-Know-Who himself. They made me promise not to get involved in the fighting. I was at headquarters with my mother, and my brother's wives and their children."

"That must have been hard," Lily concluded, "Being so far away from the ones you love and knowing they were in danger."

"It was hard," Ginny said darkly as she dried a dish off with a rag. "There were times I thought I was loosing my mind from all the worry. All my brothers were fighting. But we were lucky; we didn't loose anyone in the immediate family."

"I bet you were glad when it was over."

"It wasn't really over until a long time after the fighting stopped. But yes, I was glad when we could move on with our lives."

The two cleaned in silence for a few more moments before Harry came into the room. He took the drying rag away from Lily and gently pushed her towards the stairs.

"Jack's asking for you. I can take care of this. You go and get some sleep," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Alright. Goodnight, Daddy," she said, returning the gesture. She walked over to Ginny and gave her a warm hug. "Thanks for everything. It really did help to get my mind off everything for a little while."

"You're welcome, honey," Ginny said, wrapping her arms around Lily and holding her for a lingering second.

"Good night," she said, pulling away and looking her in the eye. "Mom."

"Sleep tight," Ginny said as she released Lily and shooed her upstairs.

Lily made her way up the stairs and found the bedroom she and Jack were sharing. She knocked on the door lightly and waited for permission to enter.

"Come on in, Lily," Jack said good-naturedly from the other side of the wood.

When she came into the room, she saw Jack sitting on the edge of the bed with a smile on his face. "Are you alright?" she asked, walking over to him.

When she was close enough, Jack reached forward and pulled her to stand in between his legs. The bed was elevated off the floor just enough so his head was level with her stomach. He buried his face in the fabric of her shirt and breathed in the smell of her as if it were necessary to sustain his life. "I'm better now," he said in a muffled voice.

Lily tangled her fingers in his hair and closed her eyes in a moment of relaxation. "Hey, I think I know what you need," she said as he wrapped his arms around her slim waist in an attempt to pull her closer to him.

"What is that?"

"A nice hot bath," she said, a definite hint of laughter in her voice.

Jack moaned in response to her small ministrations. "I'll do whatever you want if you just keep that up."

"I'll rub your back for you if you want," she shyly offered.

"I'd love you forever for it," he said with his eyes closed.

Lily stepped out of his arms and got on the bed to kneel behind him. She ran her hands over Jack's back lightly at first before she began kneading her thumbs in tiny circles starting at the base of his neck. She felt the muscles beneath her fingers contract tightly.

"You really shouldn't let yourself get like this," she said, knowing that he'd been stressed out simply by his tense muscles.

Jack mumbled something incoherent. What she was doing was simply amazing, and he didn't think he could bring himself to break the spell she'd put him under. She worked her way down his back and slowly with tender care his muscles started to relax under her gentle touch.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked when he finally found his voice.

"You know, I don't know," she said playfully. "But let me know when you find out."

"Come here, you," he said, pulling her to stand in front of him again. He cupped her face with his hand and pulled her lips down to his. The kiss couldn't have lasted long, a minute or two, perhaps an hour, or maybe even a small lifetime. However long it was it was enough to remind him why he truly did love her.

"I'll go start the water," she said, stepping out of his arms once they broke the kiss. He made a noise of disapproval in response to her absence but said nothing out loud.

For the first time, Lily walked into the joining bathroom and saw just how nice it really was. The large whirlpool bathtub was sparkling in the lavender candles that were lit around it. There were bath potions and shampoos on a shelf opposite the tub and there was a double sink with a long mirror running along the entire opposite wall. On the other side of the bathroom from the tub there was also a shower stall.

She gingerly walked over to the tub and played with the taps until she felt the temperature was right. She looked on the shelf and found some soothing bobbles and other scented potions that she thought might ease some of Jack's discomfort. Just as she was pouring the last potion into the filling tub, she felt strong arms encircle her from behind.

"Jack, you scared me," she said, somewhat startled.

"I'm sorry," Jack said against her neck in a slow, low tone of voice.

"It's almost ready for you," she said, finishing with the potion and setting it on the edge of the tub.

"Why don't you join me?" he suggested, not letting go of her.

"In my father's house?" she mocked in horror. "Jack, I'm surprised at you!"

"We have in my parent's house? What's the difference? I put a silencing charm on the room and I locked the door," he informed her. He turned her around in his arms to face him and was startled to find her with an almost scared look on her face. He thought for a minute and then remembered, "Malfoy…I totally forgot, love, I'm so sorry. I'm such a jerk to be thinking of that when he…Look, it's okay. You don't have to if you really don't want to."

Lily shook her head, "No, that isn't it. I haven't really washed up since the island and…I'm gross and I just thought I'd take a shower while you relax for a bit." She motioned behind him to the shower stall.

He looked at her and noticed she was wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. When she left the hospital she was still wearing the hospital gown. They most have given her something else when they took her to the ministry because she'd been wearing this since Harry brought her home. "Why didn't you say something? I'm sure someone would have let you take a shower earlier."

"I washed up pretty good but I…um…couldn't get the sweatshirt off. My shoulder is really sore and I can't lift it over my head. It wasn't that sore when I put it on, but now it hurts pretty bad," she admitted, looking away.

"Lil, why didn't you say something?" he asked, lightly running his hand over her back and looking down on her.

"I didn't want to trouble anyone and I knew that once I took a shower I'd just want to sleep so I couldn't do it before dinner," she said, still looking way. "I was hoping maybe you would help me."

Jack had to fight back the urge to argue with her about suffering in silence. "I can do that," he said finally, knowing that scolding her would only make her retreat further into her shell than she already had.

"Thanks," she said, untangling herself from him once more to turn off the water. She then walked back and gently eased his own shirt over his head and began undoing his bandages. "I need to replace these with some that are water proof," she explained when he looked at her questioningly.

She took her time, making sure not to hurt him as she peeled back layer after layer finally revealing the wound itself. "It looks good," she said, looking at it closely. "No signs of infection. The potion's already started to shrink its size."

"That's good," Jack said, watching her and not really caring about his own injury.

She applied more healing potion, which caused Jack to hiss at the harsh sting it caused. "Sorry," she said regrettably as she looked up at his closed eyes.

He nodded his head and watched as she put new bandages on.

"There you go," she said a few minutes later.

He reached down and removed his pants while she walked over to the sink to wash her hands. Clad in only his boxers he held out his hand to her when she was finished, "Okay, come here." She walked back over to him with a clearly apprehensive look on her face. He cupped her face with his palm and kissed her briefly. "Can you pull your bad arm up through the sleeve?" He asked, indicating the troublesome sweater she still wore.

"I think so," she said. Struggling, she managed to pull her right arm out of the sleeve and she held it close her body.

Seeing the signs of pain cross her face, he knew that her shoulder must have been slammed against something hard or pulled out of the socket and then put back in. "Raise your other arm over your head," he instructed further. She did as he asked and soon he had the sweater over her head. He cast it aside and then turned to the shirt she was wearing underneath. He told her to do the same thing as she'd done with the sweater, and before long it too lay on the cold tile. For the first time he saw her torso. He couldn't help but gasp at the sight before him.

"Thanks," she said, breathing a sigh of relief until she saw the look on his face. He was staring at her chest and stomach with a deeply pained look on his face. She crossed her arms over her chest in a vain attempt to cover up what she knew was a horrific sight.

"Lily," he croaked, gently moving her arms away and fighting back tears. Her ribcage was bruised to a deep purple and she had what looked like red bite marks at the base of her neck. He looked closer and he could see the yellowing lines on her neck where someone had tried to choke her. Taking a step around her, he saw that her back was just as bad. Along with all the old scars there appeared to be new ones as well as more bruises. Her hurt shoulder was also black and blue.

Lily obviously didn't take his scrutiny as a good sign, because it was a sniffle that brought him back from his examination. He looked down at her face and found it stricken with tears.

"You see, this was why I didn't want to say anything," she said miserably. "I'm hideous."

"No, you're not," he said, cupping her cheeks with both hands and making her look at him. "You're beautiful."

"This is not beauty, Jack," she said, tears continuing to fall. "How can you possibly want me like this?"

"Trust me, Lily, I want you. So much that it took all of my control not to jump you when you walked in the room. You're just a little banged up and it surprised me. I didn't know it was this bad. But will you please take a bath? I think it might help you just as much as it will help me. It will take some of the soreness away. If your uncomfortable being in there with me then you can get in by yourself and I'll get in when you're done."

"No, that's silly. You don't remind me of Malfoy at all," she assured him.

"We don't have to do anything," he told her, brushing the hair way from her face. "I understand if you're not comfortable after what he…um…what he…"

She smiled up at him before standing up on her tip toes to kiss him properly. Pouring all the feelings she had for him into the kiss, she held him to her for a lot longer than she might have planned. When she pulled away his lips were somewhat red and she imagined hers looked similar.

"We're letting the water get cold," she said breathlessly, slightly embarrassed at her own daring.

"It's a magical tub," Jack pointed out. "It's got a warming charm."

"Right," she replied, blushing a perfect Weasley red.

He turned her around so she was facing the filled tub and swept her hair over her good shoulder. He unclasped her bra and let if fall to join the pile of clothes in the floor. Next, he reached around and unbuttoned her jeans easily. They were slightly too big for her so it was easy to remove both the jeans and her knickers at the same time. Once all her clothes were off, he removed his own boxers and they helped each other into the warm welcoming water. The tub was a lot deeper than it had looked when it was empty, probably another hidden magical trick, Lily surmised. In the middle the water came up to her shoulders and the middle of Jack's chest. He skirted over to the edge where apparently a ledge had appeared and he leaned against the wall of the tub.

"I have to say, this was one of your better ideas," he said, closing his eyes and letting the feeling wash over him. "I feel better already."

"I have my moments," she said slyly, swimming over to him with a devilish grin, and hoping that they both could forget the world around them at least for a little while.